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Stephan81's Rally Build #2

That's right guys, I am building a seconds rally for my fleet. I am building it as I would love for my son or a friend etc... to come bashing with me. Would be loads of fun with 2 of us in a parking lot ripping it up drifting and making little courses with pilons etc... That, and this thing is so sweet who wouldn't want 2 LOL.

Converting what was my Sl4sh PE. I have all the PE parts still to go on it. Aluminum Castors, and F/R carriers, Sway Bars, all RPM Arms, Towers, MIP CVD's front and Rear. (Still need to install all these parts on it as I was planning on putting them on Rally #1. But decided rally #1 will be all Gun Metal Aluminum).

Here's what it sits like at the moment! Soon it will be a Rally.

And here's what I ordered to convert it to a Rally. The chassis is out of stock till late December, so it will still be a bit until this thing is complete. Note: some of that order is for my Rustler as well, like the GeoLandars, and other odds and ends.

This sucker will be powered by a Castle 2400kv with a ET-3's ESC.

I already have numerous sets of tires and wheels for it that would fit, also a new set of stockers. And I also have a few bodies as you guys I am sure have seen from my 1'st build.

Had to order nerf bars, bulkheads, mounts, skidplates, motor plate, gear cover, battery hold downs, steering linkage. Looks like the Foam bumper is on Ebay and a few other things. Chassis is no where to be found

A little update here. ET-3s ESC came in finally. I was on the phone with Traxxas yesterday when I called for support on a product, and I asked him about the Rally Chassis, they had them there so one is on it's way to me I guess there was a postal strike or something he was saying? I believe in Cali, reason for some parts being delayed and not available but they do have it there if you call and order directly.

ET-3s ESC and Castle 2400kv Motor

Traxxas Aluminum Castors/Front and Rear Carriers

Sway Bars/MKS Drift Pro GD-4 (Honestly no clue how this will work out, figured I would give it a try anyway, have read lots of good and bads, I honestly see myself not liking it as I like to be in %100 control)

MIP X-Duty Front and Rear CVD's

The shocks will be Losi Ten-T's. I also have some RPM Arms F/R. RPM Towers F/R. I am still waiting on the package with the majority of the conversion parts and the chassis (all I need now is the foam bumper and it's complete, don't need it lol, want). Pics and updates as it progresses.

When I was on the phone with them about the QR-1 as I was having issues with it. I asked them about the chassis, thought they wouldn't have one, but they had it there. So they sent me one express post with parts for the QR-1 as well

Got most of it put together this morning. Looking good so far, pretty easy conversion and didn't come accross any issues. Don't know what I was thinking, but forgot to install the servo LOL, going to have to take the front end off and get that installed, oh well no biggie. It will be quick. As you can see in the pics, only thing I don't have is the foam bumper. Still need to get it.

Either a Outerwears Shroud or Dusty Motors Shroud (Going to see what a fellow TRX Forums member thinks of it once he gets his and has a review on it)

Thanks for looking guys, can't wait to run this beast. I might throw the sway bars on this instead of my other Rally (Rally Build #1), same with the center diff. I am thinking once this is built this will be my main runner and the other will be the one I let others use etc... Will see

Alright,Servo, Castors, and Bearing Carriers installed. STRC Electronics plate and Castle 2400kv Motor. Geared 19/54 for now. Went with the 2075 servo for now, pretty wet and rainy time of the year. Don't want to risk frying the Savox Servo.

oh ya... what a nice build. I LOVE it... Very very nice. As for ur shock oil, 50/50 is way to thick. I run Losi TenTs and I run 25-35 on a heavy Pede 2wd. Even then it feels a bit over dampened. They are definatly alot different than the Traxxas shocks. That was what I found out anyways, What I had read prior to building em.

Yeah you're right Loot. After playing around with them went back to stock weights. Thanks for the compliments man.

Well I don't know what I was thinking but for some reason I thought I had a RX Box here, and I don't want to move it up front as the ET-3's lead wont reach and I don't have an extension, and I want to keep the factory look. So I bought this yesterday, also gives me extra parts as I have 2 Rallys.

Also tried removing the new tires from the rims last night (stock traxxas tires/rims). Boiling didn't work, always has for me. So I then baked them, came apart no problems what so ever. BUT.... The 2 wheels I tried boiling previously, warped bad. So now I need to order up a set of white wheels when they come in stock. I was wanting to dye them Black.

Pic of the wiring I did up on the ESC and Motor yesterday. Pretty much ready to go, need a few things.

I have the Focus Body here I can run on it, as well the DP8 body for onroad running and speed runs. I might order up the protrac arms for this to get some more offset so the tires are further out when running Sweep GT Tires and that body. I really want to order up another Stock Body (Either Green or Blue). So far mine has held up pretty good (reinforced a few spots).

Man your #2 build is look'n way SeXy dude!! Speaking of shocks. I'm really digg'n the new Traxxas GTR's. They have the same feel as the Losi Ten-T's. Just as beefy tooo!!

BTW you are going to love the big block motor in there.

I use both the Outerwears and Dusty Motors Shroud. They are both good in there own way. My little boy has bashed the mess out of his little MERV and its held up really well. No tears or rips, & does a great job of keeping most of the grit and grime out. Not totally 100% but hey it helps. Plus the zipper top comes in handy. I also have one for my Slash 4x4 that has worked just as well. For the Rally they are going to do there best as there is still openings on the side where the nerf bars are. If you eliminated those it would do a much better job IMO.

Thanks Digger, appreciated as always bud!! Well, foam bumper and RX box came in finally and the rest of the parts like towers, bulkheads etc... Also got my 1/10 Rally Stock Body in the mail the other day, went with blue/white and in the process of dying some wheels black as well for it. Update with pics tonight. So now I have 2 rallys, a orange themed one with all GunMetal Aluminum and a Blue Rally with Blue Aluminum

Just ordered up a set of STRC Blue Front and Rear Towers. Also seen the Axis Brace Mod, may order it but we will see.

Both my KHZ Mounts came in as well, going to install them tonight to both Rallys.

This Rally here will be the ET-3s with 2400kv and pretty soon here the other rally is going to get a MMP and 3800kv once the weather is a little dryer.

Thanks Pede. Now that makes even more sense than my initial assessments, Lol. Here I am thinking superman is real and you remind that he's just falling.... Gracefully. Not sure what I was really thinking in asking if he changed out the wires or if its some coating. Shrink tube makes perfect sense and you're right, it does look really cool and definitely serves a purpose in protecting the wires. I'll have to pick some up down the road.

Yup like Digger said, I am using 1/8 expandable sleeving. This stuff here.

On another note, I just won a Losi 2800kv 4 Pole Motor on Ebay for $53 shipped Going to throw it in this thing, the can is blue, it will look pretty sweet all blacked out with blue aluminum. Probably sell off this green can 2400kv and get my money back easily

On another note, I just won a Losi 2800kv 4 Pole Motor on Ebay for $53 shipped Going to throw it in this thing, the can is blue, it will look pretty sweet all blacked out with blue aluminum. Probably sell off this green can 2400kv and get my money back easily

That 2800kv motor is going to scoot like no tomorrow. Good choice and nice price man. Can't wait to see your opinion on it when you run it.

Yeah, as I understand from what I have gathered and read from peoples reviews and experiences is the Losi 2800kv is a rebranded Castle 2400kv Motor? Either way, should be a great setup for 3's and 4's. Abviously if I want to throw a 4's pack in there for a speed run I'll need to swap the ET-3's for a MMP which wont be an issue as I have spares of pretty much everything lol.

Here's a couple updated pics, not much has changed, got the bumper installed, RX box, installed and mounted the ET-3's ESC. Stripped and dyed a new set of stock wheels. Got a new body, installed KHZ Motor Mount.

After looking at my other rally build with aluminum towers and KHZ mount, I have pretty much little to no chassis flex at all, no reason for a brace IMO. Feels nice and strong now. I'll update as the rest of the parts come in Thanks for looking!

Not here to steal any thunder from your awesome build page... As my Rally I just got off cheap bay is still bone stock, but is practically new and came with the whole telemetry kit. I have done one upgrade: a nice little body mod that you might like to add to your "blue theme"

I second that question. Just what exactly goes into dying the wheels? I'd like to dye mine, but I usually end up just coloring them with a magic marker actually works pretty darn good. Though... I really like the black dye on the chassis. How do you do that? I'd like to dye mine, but a nice combo of black and royal blue. Probably not possible.

What that means is removing the tires from the wheels which requires baking them for about 12 minutes at 375. Then carefully remove the tires from the rims. I then boil water and use black rit dye. One the waters done boiling ill take the pot off the burner, throw my rit dye in, stir it around and then put the wheels in there, I let them sit for like 20 minutes, remove them rinse them off and done. Hope that helps, you can youtube dying rc tires as well, there's some vids out there.

You have to remove the tires from the wheels first. Either by boiling, baking, or acetone. I'm not much at spending the time with removing tires from wheels, but baking seems to be have the best results. Just stinks up the house. So either do this when the signifcant other is out shopping or while sleeping (haha). Nothing like waking to an aweful smell.

When you do this be cautious, dying is messy and well you know what it can do. Preferably outdoors if you are messy and an old pot that you won't get in trouble with the Wife or Mom. For dying the wheels you take that old pot and liquid Rit dye and get the water boiling. Put enough Rit dye in there that the water is dark and will darken the wheels to the color of choice. Then turn it down til it still has a rumble. You don't want the items to warp from the heat so don't let them sit for a long period of time at the bottom of the pot, it can deform them. For wheels you can tie fishing string to each one of them and pull them in and out to check how well they have taken and if that's the color you are shooting for. Another good thing is to use a strainer or thongs to check them, whichever you choose. Depending on how much die you use it can take 5-10 mins or more. All going to depend on your shade you are hunting for. Once done you take them out and don't let drip, best to have a pan or like me a couple pieces of tin foil with paper towels at the bottom and drop the parts on it. Then you take them and rinse them off with water. Let dry and you are done.

I'm pretty sure this is what or pretty close to what Stephan does. Hope this helps.

I have used the boiling method before and it worked but was time consuming. If dying the wheels black obviously the white wheels would be ideal but I wonder how the green or orange wheels would turn out. Anyone tried this? This might be my weekend project.

Thanks for the info. I did a little research after I asked the question. I've read about the rit dye many times, but never really tried it. As for removing tires from wheels. I've tried the baking idea... Melted rubber. I've tried the boiling idea, it worked, but I still ripped the bead of the tire when pulling it off the wheel. Or, I've just warped or melted the rubber due to the boiling heat, as no matter how I tried, I could never get the glue to loosen up enough before deforming the wheel or tire. Soooo I'll just do my tried and true method. I'm pretty skillful with a marker or paint pen and I don't mind going back over chips or smears

I will, however, try the rit dye on the chassis, as it seems to be the faster way and probably best results. I might do a blue chassis... Though, I wanted to do this blue and black design, so maybe I'll have to revert to my spray paint can to achieve that design. At any rate, thanks for sharing the info.

Yup I warped these Rally rims in the process and bought new wheels after I got the tires off and mounted them to the new wheels.

Was the first time I have had any issues at all with removing tires and I have done it quite a few times now with no issues. This time though boiling them and they still didn't want to come free. So I baked them for about 8minutes, and they came off with no effort. But 2 rims I had tried boiling before that were warped, and the other 2 were fine that I didn't boil. Oh well

Hey guys. I am still around LOL. I apologize for the lack of updates lately. Only update is I installed the KHZ Mount a while back, not much for pics as you can't really see the upgrade. And my Losi 2800kv Motor (blue can) and STRC Shock Towers came in, still need to install them.

I have been busy with a new hobby, I am extremely and highly addicted to air based vehicles now LOL. Multirotor helis to be exact, quadcopters. My collection is up to 6 quads now and I'm telling ya, I am addicted and put about 15 packs minumum through a day on these and the possibilities and builds you can do with these is pretty amazing to be honest and endless. I have not much interest in my trucks/cars at the moment but I am sure that will change LOL so I will keep some around for sure. I'll be around, keep an eye out in the MP I may have some of my Traxxas stuff up for sale here soon. Need to fund some $ for more Helis (looking into a bigger 3d model).

Glad to see your expanding your rc repertoire. Lol! I may be interested in a traxxas part or two. I'm actually highly interested in the stock Nimh batts, if you have any from your 1/10 scales. Basically any that will fit the rally. When I deploy, I'm not so sure I can bring lipos with me, especially due to the extreme environment I will be in. I know lipos have gone on deployment with people before, but I'll feel safer/comfortable knowing that the Nimhs will be far less hassle.

This goes for any of you out there who still has their stock traxxas battery. I'm interested, but also broke... Lol! So hopefully you will be willing to part with it (them) for cheap

Well... My rally introduced itself to a curb at full throttle at the hands of my 5 yr old. His only task was to hit the gas and let go so dad could record it taking off for some slow motion shots at the wheels.

Within 3 seconds... And daddy yelling stop!! The Curb won! Though, the video below shows it grabbed some nice air!

Based on the telemetry kit and my iphone, It was at 48 when it met the slab. Soo, what actually happened? Photos and video provide details. But basically I need a new chassis, center drive shaft, front bulkhead and possibly front diff. I am unsure of servo, as well as the slipper and clutch assembly.

At least the boy is learning and hopefully dad can teach him some throttle control next time. Lol

Wow man that sux. Good thing it's all fixable Sorry Bashnslash I got no batteries for sale I sold all the stock batteries a while back.

It's going to be quite a while before I can even use my RC Toys and it's the last thing on my mind to be honest (I am missing biking though OH GOD).

I had a tragic accident at work on Feb 18th and I am lucky to still have my foot and I could of easily died. Quite tramatic. Got my foot crushed inbteween 2 steel rollers. pins in my feet and toes, ill need skin graphing and months of rehab to walk again and possibly never have feeling in parts of my foot and possibly lose some toes. Given the situation, I am happy to be in one piece and really opened my eyes on what's really important in life and who your friends really are and who loves you etc...

I've had many injuries/broken bones/surgeries and this by far is the worse. Everytime I think about the accident I tear up/nightmares and scared to go back when it's time to (it will be quite a while).